


Golden Eyes and Forget-Me-Nots

by gardenrose



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: A strong focus on friendships, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon Lives (Merlin), Because if Lance hadn't died, Canon-Typical Violence, Elyan Lives (Merlin), Everybody Lives, Everything would be very different, F/M, Found Family, Good Mordred (Merlin), Gwaine Being Gwaine (Merlin), Gwaine Flirts (Merlin), Gwaine Lives (Merlin), Knights Of The Round Table (Merlin) - Freeform, Lancelot (Merlin) Lives, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Merlin's Neckerchief (Merlin), Pining Gwaine (Merlin), Protective Gwaine (Merlin), THAT'S A TAG??!!, Well - Freeform, almost everybody - Freeform, because screw that, just a little though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:00:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24408427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardenrose/pseuds/gardenrose
Summary: The land of Ospana is full of wordless magic users, and Aurelie is happy there with her five siblings and loving parents. But when a plague hits, Aurelie loses everything. So she packs up and hits the road, travelling aimlessly for just over four years - until she runs into two other travelling swordsmen, who sweep her into a plot filled with a vengeful sorceress, immortal soldiers, the most powerful warlock to every walk the earth, and a prince who has to reclaim his kingdom.
Relationships: Gwaine (Merlin)/Original Female Character(s), Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 13





	1. Swordfights and Rosemary

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone!! merlin was my favourite tv series when i was in junior high, and i've rewatched it because what else is there to do during quarantine (besides school)??
> 
> gwaine is my favourite character in the series (with lancelot coming in at a very close second), so i decided to write a story about how i think another magical character than merlin could trust would change everything without trying very hard
> 
> aurelie is my favourite out of all the original characters i've ever written, and i hope you guys love her as much as i do!!
> 
> i've taken some dialogue directly from the show, but i tried to add a lot of original dialogue and scenes to make it feel more real
> 
> (also even though i've borrowed some dialogue, i did not watch the show while i was writing, so while the dialogue for some scenes will be accurate, the actions may not be)
> 
> speaking of, i've taken a lot of liberties with language (specifically grammar and cursing) and the type of food they eat and other historical factors - i'm not a historian, and even though i did do some research, camelot is a myth so i figured i could add some inaccurate things in and not worry too much - that being said, if you know a fact or two that could help improve my writing, please feel free to let me know!!

The sky was beginning to get dark - Aurelie had been travelling for hours, and she figured it was about time for dinner. She had managed to hunt a few rabbits the day before and still had some leftover meat, which would make a nice stew, especially if she takes advantage of the huge bag of potatoes she has been carrying around. Aurelie leans forward and gives her gray courser horse a firm pat.

“What do you think Rosie? Should we stop soon?” She asks, and her horse lets out a loud snort in response. Aurelie continues on for another half an hour, before settling beside a cute little stream. The water looks fairly clean, and there’s a nice little clearing right beside the water somewhat hidden by massive trees. Aurelie jumps off her horse, tethering her to one of the trees, giving her a firm pat on the nose before moving to the saddlebags. She unstraps her sword (it’s a beautiful thing, forged by her brother as a birthday gift) from the saddle, then happily straps it diagonally across her back, the familiar weight a comfort. Aurelie then gently takes the saddle off her horse, and Rosie knickers happily. She makes quick work of brushing her horse down, before deciding to go look for some firewood before it gets too dark. Aurelie gives Rosie one last neck pat before heading off, adjusting her short but thick black cloak as she goes. It’s slow going - Aurelie’s fairly short arms can only carry so much wood before she has to head back to camp and drop them off and head back out. She’s five pieces of wood into her third trip when the sound of a man screaming in pain scares her so badly she drops all the branches. Aurelie freezes, listening intently for another sound cue, and almost immediately hones in on the faint sounds of swords clashing together. Her boots move quietly across the forest floor, and she draws her sword as she gets closer to the fight. Aurelie peers over a ledge a few meters away from the scrap, and her eyes widen at the sight. A group of about twenty bandits have ganged up on two males - who seem, against all odds, to be holding their own. However, ten to one is hardly a fair fight, so Aurelie happily leaps over the ledge, grinning wildly as she charges a group of six bandits that had regrouped and obviously planned to attack the two men from behind. She slashes the one closest to her in the back, and he falls to the ground with a loud cry, effectively drawing attention to herself.

Aurelie twirls her sword. “Twenty against two hardly seems fair, does it?”

One of the bandits smirks widely, obviously seeing her as not much as a threat. “The addition of one woman will not help.”

Aurelie’s grin widens. “Let’s find out.” And with that, she jumps into battle. The first bandit is disarmed easily, but the other four gang up on her, so she has to work a little harder. They’re proficient enough fighters, but Aurelie learned from the best. With a fluid twist of her wrist, another bandit loses his sword, yelling in surprise just before she sweeps his legs out from under him, his head hitting the ground with a loud _THUMP!_ This enrages the other three bandits, and they all charge her at once. Laughing loudly, she punches one in the face (feeling his nose break), spins around to land a punishing kick to another’s family jewels, and happily engages the last bandit in a game of fluid blocks and effective parries, allowing him to tire himself out, before smacking his sword as hard as she can with her own. It flies across the clearing, and the bandit has just enough time to stare at Aurelie with wide eyes before she jumps up and lands a spinning kick on his temple. He’s out before he even hits the ground. She’s not sure how long the fight lasts for, but it’s getting dark by the time it’s finished, Aurelie’s hair sticking to the back of her neck. She sheathes her sword with a satisfied noise, pulling a strip of leather out of her pocket to pull her hair up and out of the way. The two men who were ambushed are staring at her warily, so she gives them a reassuring smile and a wave.

“That was fun,” she says happily, pulling her left arm across her chest until her shoulder cracks, then doing the same to her right.

The taller of the two blinks. “Who are you?”

“Aurelie,” she says, bowing slightly. “What are your names?”

“I’m Percival, and this is Lancelot.” The bigger one gestures to himself, then the smaller, but no less skilled, man. 

Aurelie places her hands on her hips. “Nice to meet you. Do you have any idea why the bandits attacked you?”

“What?” Percival blinks. “They’re bandits. I’m not aware they needed a reason.”

“True,” Aurelie hums. “But it looks to me like your camp is ransacked, and you don’t have the time to make a new one. I have plenty of food back at mine. Would you allow me to treat you to dinner?”

The two men exchange a look. “You would do that for us?” Lancelot asks, his voice quiet and melodic. 

“I’m making rabbit stew,” Aurelie says in leu of an answer, turning around and making her way back up the hill. “Are you joining me or not?”

Aurelie’s camp is not far, so the three make it back before the sun fully sets. Lancelot and Percival had brought their horses, and Rosie huffs in greeting. Aurelie strokes her ear fondly, whispering an apology about how long it took for her to get back. She bustles about, starting a fire, grabbing a thick pot out of one of the many saddlebags resting on the ground, filling it with water from the stream and setting it above the fire. Percival and Lancelot brush off three bigger logs, bringing them around the fire so they and Aurelie can sit on them.

“So what brings you so close to Camelot?” Percival asks once Aurelie has settled onto the log they set out for her.

She blinks. “I’m by Camelot?” Lancelot nods, and Aurelie snorts. “Wow, I obviously have not been paying attention to where I’m going.”

“Are you going somewhere specific?” Lancelot asks, and Aurelie shakes her head.

“No,” she answers, voice growing quieter. “I’m from Ospana.”

Percival’s jaw unhinges. “That is… far.”

“An understatement,” Aurelie says, a gleam of amusement in her eyes. “I have been on the road for about four years. There was nothing for me in Ospana, so I decided it was time to leave, and I have not found a place to settle since.”

Percival and Lancelot repay her by telling her about how they had met in a small town called Haldor, where Percival was working as the muscle for a farm, and Lancelot was a sword for hire. They had received a message from Lancelot’s dear friend Merlin, asking for their help (well, mainly Lancelot’s, since Merlin had not met Percival yet), and were on their way to offer any aid they could. While this conversation was happening, the water had begun to boil, so Aurelie added the chunks of rabbit meat, five potatoes, a few carrots, a few sticks of celery, a couple of cut up mushrooms, and a few spices.

Percival let out a disbelieving huff as he watched her put all her supplies in the pot. “Surely you do not have to waste so many resources on a stew for two travelling swordsmen?”

Aurelie laughed, eyes twinkling with amusement. “You forget I am _also_ a travelling swordsman. Well, not a man - you know what I mean. Besides, I would like to think of you as friends?”

“Ah,” Lancelot says softly, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “The feeling is mutual. You did save us from bandits after all.”

Aurelie beams, dimples coming out at full force, and the two men happily return her gleeful smile. “I have not had people I could call friends for a long while, ever since before I left Ospana.”

“What happened?” Percival asks, eyes widening as Aurelie grimaces. “Forgive me, I should not pry -”

Aurelie waves him off. “My family… was of high standing, you could say. I’m the youngest of five siblings, but I got along best with Owen, my brother. Edward is the oldest, my senior by ten years. Emilie is next, and she’s six years older than me. Oreena is a year younger than Emilie, and Owen is a year younger than her and four years my elder. My siblings are all nice enough, but Edward was more cold than most, even then. It was understandable - he had a lot of responsibilities and not a lot of time, so we never held it against him. Six years ago, when I was fifteen years old, a plague swept through Ospana, slowly taking the lives of my parents, and all of my siblings but Edward.” Aurelie clears her throat and takes a drink from her water skin, lips trembling slightly. It still hurt to talk about, even though she likes to think she has moved on. “After the plague died down, Edward had changed for the worse. He became even more cold, and it was like I was living with a completely different person. So, I packed my bags and left when I was seventeen.”

Lancelot looked at her gently, an indiscernible look in his eyes. “You must be incredibly strong, to go through all that and still be as kind as you are.”

Aurelie blushed furiously. “No, I would not say I’m kind! I was just doing what anyone else would have done.”

“Not many people could have charged fearlessly into a battle with twenty bandits,” Percival chuckled. “I’m still in awe, to be completely honest.”

“How could we ever even begin to thank you?” Lancelot asks, leaning forward in earnest.

“Well…” Aurelie smiled softly. “Your friend Merlin - would he happen to need another sword?” She asks, stirring the stew, before dishing it out into three bowls and handing them to the men.

Lancelot smiles happily. “We would be honoured to receive any help you are willing to give us.”

Aurelie snorts. “You’ve been won over by the stew, haven’t you.”

Percival laughs loudly, and Aurelie’s chest warms. The rest of the night passes with comfort. The men had showered her with compliments about the stew, telling tales about how it was the best they had ever tasted, and keeping her entertained with stories of their own before they finally settled down in their bedrolls. Percival volunteered to keep the first watch, and Aurelie fell asleep the warmest she had been in a long time.

The night passed without incident, and they began their travels at first light (Aurelie was not happy about this, and almost fell asleep on Rosie five times, and the teasing from the boys got worse every time). They pushed the horses fairly hard, stopping only for a short lunch (Aurelie went hunting and came back with a whole ass deer), and when it got too dark to continue. This went on for three whole days, Aurelie getting closer with Percival and Lancelot the whole time. She would never be scared of Percival - not that she was in the first place - especially since she caught him showering his horse’s nose with soft kisses. And she was entirely comforted by Lancelot’s presence, and her heart raced when he made her a small but detailed flower crown on their second night of travel. She wore it proudly until they had to go to sleep, and then she pressed it between the pages of the one book she carries with her everywhere. The boys had learned that Aurelie was a very affectionate person with the people she’s most comfortable with, the first instance of this happening when she leaned forward to tug on Lancelot’s earlobe on their third night, after he cracked a surprisingly vulgar joke. This had unleashed bottled up affection from both men, Percival demanding hugs whenever something small inconveniences him - hugs that Aurelie are more than happy to provide. Lancelot’s more subtle, his affection coming in the form of small gifts, meaningful touches, and hand holding. Aurelie was bursting at the seams with happiness. It had been many years since she’d been able to experience casual affection like the one both Percival and Lancelot are more than pleased to give. The boys had taken to calling her Lee, and she retaliated by calling them Percy and Lance - fairly simple nicknames, but it meant more to her than anything. It was obvious she had found life long friends, and she was eternally grateful. 

It was on their fourth (and hopefully last) night on the road when she slipped up. Back in Ospana, it is more rare to be born without magic than with, and she forgot that things were different in other parts of the world. The three of them had been sitting around the fire, Lancelot trying his hand at cooking that night when they heard a loud rustle from the bushes not so far away from them. A deer jumped out, straight at Percival’s face, and Aurelie threw her hands up, freezing it in place. Percival had fallen off the log he was sitting on, and Lancelot had stopped stirring. Aurelie had turned the deer around and sent it away with nothing more than a few hand movements, and once the animal was running off, both of the men turned to her with wide eyes.

Aurelie blinked. “... What?”

 _“You have magic?!”_ Percival hissed, but he sounded more surprised than anything.

She nodded slowly. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Magic is illegal in Camelot,” Lancelot explained, going back to stirring once he was over the initial shock. 

Aurelie choked. “Magic is _what?!_ Why?!”

“King Uther hates it,” Percival says, dragging himself off the forest floor and back onto his log. “Have you heard of the Purge?”

“What purge,” Aurelie asks slowly, not sure she’s going to like the answer. 

“King Uther of Camelot swept through Camelot and burned anyone who had ever used magic,” Percival explained. “It was horrible. The magic users did not even get a trial.”

Aurelie blinked again, a sick feeling in her stomach. “What would happen if I used magic in Camelot?”

Lancelot whipped his head around to stare into her eyes. “You must not! Ever! Under _any_ circumstances!”

Aurelie took an involuntary step back, and Percival sighed, standing up to put a soft hand on her shoulder. “Lancelot means that we are very protective of you, and do not want to see you hurt in any way.”

“We do not share the same beliefs of the king,” Lancelot says, inhaling sharply but noticeably calmer. “So we won’t say anything. You just have to be careful.”

It took a few seconds, but Aurelie’s heart calmed, glancing between Lancelot and Percival before giving them both a blinding smile. “How lucky am I, to have found friends such as you?”

Percival let out a loud guffaw, ruffled her hair, and went back to sitting on his log. Lancelot’s cheeks turned the faintest pink, and he focused on the stew with a small smile. Aurelie, ears red from all the excitement, went back to mending her recurve bow.

They woke slowly the next day. Lancelot and Percival had both put chainmail on - Aurelie had mercilessly teased Percival at the sight of his chainmail being sleeveless - so Aurelie had figured she should do the same. She hates wearing just chainmail though, so she had put on a thick white long-sleeved undershirt, her (surprisingly light) chainmail, her dark blue sleeveless tunic over top, then a black belt which held her sword. Her black vambraces had gone on after, and she even tied her hair up in a ponytail. Aurelie had re-laced her thick black boots with sturdier laces, and even strapped her bow and quiver to her back. Once they were all ready, they packed up camp and rode away on their horses, Lancelot urging them to hurry. It was obvious that he was extremely worried about his friend, and his worry was rubbing off on Percival and Aurelie. She feared he would become restless if they did not find Merlin soon.

Luckily for Lancelot, they did not have to wait much longer at all. They had only been riding a couple of hours before they heard the sounds of a fight, men yelling to each other, and swords clashing. They pulled their horses to a stop, glancing at each other for a quiet moment.

“Is that them?” Aurelie asks, and Percival shrugs.

“Only one way to find out,” Lancelot answers, dismounting from his horse quickly and drawing his sword, running off towards the sounds of the fight. Aurelie sputtered, watching in disbelief as he completely forgot about them. 

“Does he usually do that?” She said, blinking rapidly.

Percival got off his horse much more carefully than Lance did. “Ah… no.”

Aurelie chuckled, and followed Percival’s actions. She tied Rosie and Lancelot’s horse to a tree before running off after Percival. Now, Aurelie is quick, but Percy’s legs are twice as long as hers, so his leisurely jog is her almost-sprint. She was breathing hard when they finally caught up to Lancelot, who was crouched behind some bushes.

“It’s them,” he whispered, and Aurelie clapped quietly, grinning. He smiled back, but his face quickly dropped into a frown. “They’re losing. The bandits have trapped them at a dead end and are approaching quickly.”

“Which one’s Merlin?” Aurelie asked quietly.

Lancelot hummed. “He’s tall and gangly and has really big ears. He’s probably beside a guy with blond hair who’s wearing chainmail and a red cape. But he might not have the cape.”

Percival blinked. “That… was not very helpful.”

Lance shrugged.

Aurelie stood, taking her bow off her back and attaching an arrow. “Well, what are we waiting for?” Without any further prompting, she marched into plain view of the ditch Merlin and a few other guys wearing really mismatched clothes - but no capes - were trapped, and loosed an arrow into the ear of the man closest to the group of cornered people. He dropped with a shout, tilting comically to the side, only to pop up again in a matter of seconds.

She frowned. “What the fuck? That should have killed him. More than half of the arrow is in his head.”

“Language!” Percival said loudly as he and Lancelot ran past her, but Aurelie only grimaced and shot an arrow into the same guy’s thigh. He barely even flinched.

“Why won’t this guy die?” Aurelie shouted in frustration, shooting the same guy three more times. He just soldiered on. She was just about to give up and jump down to cut his head off when Percival cried out a loud _LOOK OUT,_ and Aurelie turned just in time to watch him push a stack of boulders down on top of the men that were attacking Merlin and the people he was with.

“Who’s that?” Aurelie faintly heard one of the - now saved - men ask.

“Don’t know, but I’m liking them already,” another replied.

“Lancelot!” A girl (who Aurelie had not even noticed) cried happily, and Aurelie watched as her friend’s eyes lit up. She smirked, already planning to interrogate him later. The small group of people made their way up the hill towards Lancelot, Percival, and Aurelie - who was watching them with narrowed eyes. There are six males and one girl (a really pretty girl with curly brown hair and soft eyes). The two blond males are wearing chainmail, even though the taller one with curly, unruly hair looked like his was a little bit too big. The shorter blond is obviously wealthy, this fact made evident by the neck and shoulder guards he wore. The other three are wearing regular clothes, like they were in the middle of their day when they had to flee Camelot - one has hair on the longer side, another has it shaved close to his head and the third has abnormally large ears. The last male is much older than the rest and carries a medicine bag.

“We need to hurry,” Lancelot says quietly, cautiously glancing behind him. Aurelie nods slowly, keeping an ear open just in case.

“I take it that rock fall was no accident,” the shorter blond says, grinning happily.

Lancelot clamps his hand down on Percy’s shoulder. “This is Percival. It was his strength that brought them down. And this -” he puts his other hand on Aurelie’s much smaller shoulder “- is Aurelie.”

She shoots them a wide smile.

“Your highness,” Percival says, and Aurelie falters, shooting Lancelot a wide eyed look. Neither of them had mentioned the prince of Camelot would be in the group they were helping! Lance met her eyes with a small wince, shrugging apologetically.

“Arthur,” the prince corrects, holding his hand out to Percival. 

He stares at it for a moment, before reaching out. “Arthur it is.”

The prince turns to Aurelie next, holding his arm out in the same way he did to Percival. She responds in turn, curtseying slightly.

“You’re adept with a bow,” he compliments. “Where did you learn to shoot?”

“My father, sire,” Aurelie answers, smiling slightly. “He taught me everything I know.”

“I’m sure,” Arthur says kindly before stepping back and fixing Lancelot with a look. “What are you doing here?”

“Er…” the bloke with the big ears steps up. “It was me. I sent for him.”

The prince glances at him before turning back to face Lance, Percy, and Aurelie. “Well, we owe you our lives. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem,” Aurelie says awkwardly.

The guy with the massive (Aurelie’s exaggerating a little) ears stumbles forward. “Um… I’m Merlin. This is Elyan -” (the one with the almost shaved head) “- Gwaine -” (the one with the long hair) “- Leon -” (the taller blond with curly hair) “- Gaius -” (the old man with the medicine bag) “- and Guinivere.” He then leans forward a little and shoots Lance the widest smile Aurelie has ever seen. “You would not believe how good it is to see you Lancelot.”

Lance grins back in response, and Aurelie smiles softly. She had known Lancelot was worried, but seeing him with a weight lifted from his chest is refreshing. 

They had continued their journey not long after introductions were made, and Aurelie offered Guinivere the chance to ride with her on Rosie. The girl accepted, and a friendship was born. Gwen is one of the sweetest people Aurelie has ever met, and they’d only been friends for five hours but Aurlie would do anything for her. Lancelot, sweet noble Lancelot, had given Gaius his horse. While they were travelling, Arthur, Gwen, Merlin, Leon, Gwaine, and Elyan took the time to explain what was happening at Camelot. Arthur’s half sister, Morgana, had revealed herself to have magic and was treated horribly by their father, Uther (Aurelie tried her best not to flinch at the name), so she had fled, only to return with a sorceress named Morgause and a huge army.

“I buried an arrow in one’s skull and he was completely unaffected,” Aurelie brings up in the middle of the discussion, frowning in confusion. Merlin goes on to explain how Morgana had gotten hold of something called the Cup of Life, an ancient goblet with the power to make you immortal if you spill a drop of blood in it. Morgana had employed King Cenred and his army, putting a drop of every single soldier’s blood into the cup. Then the soldiers had raided Camelot, taking the city and the citadel with ease. Every remaining Knight of Camelot and King Uther had been imprisoned in the dungeons, and Morgana had taken the throne. A week after, Guinivere had broken Leon out of imprisonment and they had met up with Arthur, Merlin, Elyan, Gwaine, and Gaius. Aurelie had been exchanging incredulous glances with Percival the whole time, not knowing these people well enough to take them at face value. It was a crazy enough story that if she hadn’t shot the same guy five times (all in lethal spots and he had not even been close to staying down for longer than ten seconds, let alone permanently) Aurelie would not have believed them. However, the three of them had personally seen proof, so the newcomer’s story made sense, however crazy it was. Gwaine ended up asking how the three of them had met, so Percival and Lancelot had taken up dramatically retelling the tale of Aurelie joining in to help them fight the bandits, greatly exaggerating her role in the fight. Percival yelled about how she took on fifty bandits at once ( _you fucking liar it was six)_ and Lancelot sang praises about how she fed them after with “the best stew he has ever tasted - it even triumphs yours Merlin”. Aurelie had then taken over, telling the much more realistic story about how she heard the fight while gathering firewood and decided to help, then offered them dinner.

“We’ll have to duel sometime,” Leon said, an impressed look on his face, and Aurelie accepted eagerly. She loved fighting Knights - every kingdom has a different style, so tries to at least watch a fight whenever she passes through a city. Camelot’s Knights have a reputation for being the best fighters though, and now she has the opportunity to duel one! This, besides the day she had met Percival and Lancelot, was the best day of her life. Merlin then took it upon himself to return the favour, explaining how he had met everyone (he just about gave them his life story starting from when he arrived at Camelot). Arthur then asked where she was from, so she told them the abridged version of her travels - how she grew up in Ospana but left after a plague hit and has been wandering ever since. They all had fairly mixed reactions, but Merlin looked thoughtful and a chill ran up Aurelie’s spine. Does he know that the people in Ospana practice magic openly? Lancelot seems to trust Merlin with his life, but Aurelie likes to think she’s a bit more cautious (even though she started trusting Lancelot and Percival fairly quickly), especially since she has not had a one-on-one conversation with Merlin yet. However, she loves Lancelot and Percival, so she will do her very best to remain open-minded. 

About a day later they came across an old and abandoned castle, Arthur doing his very best to convince them that he was leading them there the whole time, even though Aurelie was sure he was bluffing. She was not exactly sure where they were going, but she had a feeling that this was not the original destination. She has learned that Arthur is very stubborn in the short time she’s known him, and figured it would be pointless to argue.

Gaius, however, was skeptical and not afraid to show it. “Are you sure this is safe?” He asked just after they had entered the castle, and Aurelie was inclined to agree with him. The castle was dusty, covered in cobwebs, and the ground was littered with skeletons. Now the old bones she would deal with, but the spiders she cannot. Insects is where she draws the line, especially grasshoppers. What right do they have to have those abnormal legs that can propel them up in a split second? What right do they have to have those disgusting little faces? Aurelie shudders at the thought. 

“This castle belonged to the ancient kings. It’ll do for a while,” Arthur answers, trying (and failing) to keep a hint of doubt out of his voice.

Aurelie grimaces. The prince did not sound sure of himself, no matter how hard he tried. She stuck close to Percival - if anything fell down he would either catch it or it would hit him first cause he is much taller. (The actual reason is because she feels safest around Percival and Lancelot, and Percival was closest to her while Lancelot was hanging around Merlin - but that’s not something she would admit because they’d tease her about it.)

“Can’t be worse than that cave,” Elyan mumbled, and Aurelie scrunched her nose in thought. Later, when no one was paying attention to her, she’d go out and put wards on the castle - especially since they can’t kill their adversaries. 

“Search the place,” Arthur ordered. “See what you can find.”

They all spread out and did as told, Aurelie crouching down to examine a pile of bones in a corner. They were bare and completely covered in cobwebs, which tells her that they’ve been there a while. They didn’t smell the most pleasant either, and dust went into Aurelie’s nose whenever she inhaled. 

“They must have been left by bandits,” Gwaine said from where he was poking around in a chest. Aurelie agreed - this castle was so old that anything the dead kings and queens had left behind would have been looted by now. Out of the corner of her eye, Arthur yanks an old sheet off a round table, and then almost immediately sits in it. She resists the urge to snort - of course the prince would be the first to sit down.

“Here!” Arthur says loudly, startling Aurelie so much that she drops the rib cage she had picked up. “Come and join me.” Aurelie glances at Percival, who just shrugs. Princes don’t usually ask commoners to sit with them, but Lancelot moved to take a seat at the table almost immediately, so Aurelie followed suit, taking the seat between Lancelot and Percival.

“This table belonged to the ancient kings of Camelot,” Arthur starts, and Aurelie braces herself for a speech. “A round table afforded no man more importance than any other. They believed in equality in all things. So, it seems fitting that we revive this tradition. Without each of you, we would not be here.” He stood up, the chair making a horrible screeching noise as it scraped along the stone floor. “My father has languished in prison for too long. Tomorrow, I make my bid to rescue him. Are there any around this table who will join me?”

Lancelot stands first. “You taught me the values of being a knight, the code by which a man should live his life. To fight with honour for justice, freedom, and all that’s good. I believe that’s the world you will build.”

Aurelie blinked. What the fuck is going on? Why is everyone standing up?

Elyan was next. “Even though I was a commoner, a nobody, you were willing to lay your life down for me, Arthur. It is now my turn to return the favour.”

“I have fought alongside you many times,” Leon says as he stands up. “There is no one I would rather die for.”

Aurelie sighs. _Boys._ Always so dramatic.

“I think we’ve no choice,” Gwaine mutters, also standing, before breaking into a blinding grin. “But I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Percival stands next, somewhat abruptly. “Your enemies are my enemies.”

Aurelie sighs loudly as she stands, but sends her new companions a cocky smirk. “This sounds like fun. I’m in.”

“If you need an old man…” Gaius says as he stands slowly, and Arthur sends him a thankful nod.

Guinevere gathers her skirts and stands. “You know the answer.”

Merlin is the last one sitting, and he seems perfectly content to never move. Aurelie grins at the obvious playfulness the boy is exuding, the mood instantly brightening.

Arthur scowls playfully. “Merlin?”

He’s obviously resisting the urge to smile, tilting his head to the side slightly. “No, don’t really fancy it.”

Aurelie snorts.

“You don’t have a choice, Merlin,” Arthur says, trying his very best to sound annoyed but not accomplishing it.

“Okay,” Merlin says brightly and pops up to stand with the rest of them.

“I want to thank you all for staying loyal to me in Camelot’s hour of need,” Arthur says, moving from the table and gathering everyone but Leon, Merlin, Gwen and Gaius over to one side and gesturing for them to kneel in a line. “I’ll do something my father won’t approve of.”

Aurelie frowns in confusion. Why the hell is she kneeling with everyone else? Arthur slowly draws his sword and Aurelie’s eyes widen - he’s going to behead them!

But all he does is tap Lancelot’s shoulders gently. “Arise, Sir Lancelot, Knight of Camelot.”

Aurelie resists the urge to laugh - why did she think Arthur was going to behead them?

He moves onto the others. “Arise, Sir Gwaine, Knight of Camelot. Arise Sir Percival, Knight of Camelot. Arise Sir Elyan, Knight of Camelot.” 

Arthur comes to a halt in front of Aurelie, who just stares up at him. “You don’t have to,” she reassures quietly. “Never before has a woman been knighted. I’ll fight alongside you just the same - if you’ll have me.”

He just smiles before tapping her shoulders gently. “Arise, Dame Aurelie, Knight of Camelot.”

Aurelie stands slowly, staring at the prince in awe. She can’t believe he _actually_ knighted her! She catches sight of Lancelot behind Arthur grinning widely and she beams back at him.

“Tomorrow,” Arthur says, staring each of them in the eye. “When you fight, you can stand proud knowing you are members of the most noble army the world has ever seen.”

Percival laughs loudly and draws Aurelie into a hug, which she returns full force even though her arms barely reach around his torso so it looks kind of comical. 

The rest of the night is uneventful, but Aurelie is filled with a warmth that has only been present with her family before the plague and Lance and Percy. She thinks she could become close friends with everyone here. Gaius, who she learned is the court physician, has a quick wit hidden under his imposing eyebrows. Guinevere is a sweetheart, and her brother proves to be the same, even if Aurelie has the feeling he can get up to some mischief. Leon is stoic, but his eyes give away all of his emotions. Merlin’s hilarious, not caring for formalities and insulting the prince without fear - it’s kind of admirable to be honest. Arthur is kind of an anomaly. All of the other royals Aurelie has met have been stuck up and demanding, and while Arthur is both those things, it’s… softer. The way he interacts with Merlin is interesting to watch, and Aurelie can tell that Arthur’s personality has been heavily influenced by Merlin. Gwaine… Gwaine is the most interesting. He seems like an open book at first glance, but then you realize he is only forthcoming about the stuff on the surface and keeps his deeper feelings locked away. He’s most comfortable around Merlin, but since he’s known him the longest, it makes sense. All in all, they’re a rag-tag group, but Aurelie is the most comfortable she’s ever felt. A little bit later, Lancelot and Aurelie offer to go hunt - something the group jumps on. They’re all hungry as hell after running away from an immortal army all day. Merlin offers to help by getting water, firewood, herbs, and mushrooms, and when Aurelie proposes combining their skills to make the stew he agrees readily (Lancelot almost drools at this).

“Feel free to look through my saddlebags,” Aurelie tells Merlin as she and Lance get ready to leave. “I’ve got a sizable pot in there, some dishes - we’ll have to share though - and some things we can put in so it actually has some taste.”

Merlin grins widely as she shoulders her quiver. “What would have done without you?”

“Starve,” Aurelie says with a playful wink before leaving with Lance. Between the two of them they manage to catch five rabbits, and Aurelie found a bunch of mushrooms that she couldn’t resist taking. Lancelot had encountered a few wild raspberry bushes, so they picked a bunch, utilizing Lance’s undershirt as a makeshift basket. Once they finish hunting, Aurelie busies herself with putting some protective wards up in the forest around the castle. Happy with themselves, they headed back to the castle in high spirits. The two of them are greeted by excited knights once they see all the food Lance and Aurelie had brought back (Lancelot has to fend off many fingers from stealing the raspberries, as he wants to eat them after the stew), and Aurelie sets about skinning the rabbits. She does it with ease, and by the time she has finished, Merlin has returned, built a fire, and started boiling the water. Once Aurelie finishes with the rabbits, she puts the bones in the pot to give the water flavour, while also sprinkling a bit of flour from a box in her saddlebag to thicken the broth. Merlin had found a plethora of herbs, and Aurelie grins at the sight. She grabs the three stalks of rosemary, chops them up and throws them into the soup - rosemary can be overwhelming so it has to be added before anything else (she’s learned that the hard way). He had also grabbed a few flat-leaf parsley (this is good because she finds the curly leaves far too strong), so she chops it up and leaves it for later. After a while, the rabbit bones come out and the newly cut up meat goes in next, then she cuts up a multitude of potatoes (her last eleven to be precise), a few leeks that Merlin has provided, the carrots and celery she had her in her saddlebags, salt, and Merlin throws in the parsley. When no one is looking, Aurelie thinks of a quick spell to make it more filling, eyes flashing gold. By the time the thick stew is finished, everyone - but the knights especially - is drooling. Aurelie only has five bowls and spoons, so Gaius, Gwen, Arthur, Leon and Elyan eat first, singing Merlin and Aurelie’s praises the whole time. Gwaine, Lance, Percy, Merlin and Aurelie eat next, and Aurelie sends Merlin an appraising look after the first bite. Once everyone is finished there’s still enough for everyone to have another bowl in the morning, so Aurelie covers the pot and sets it down by her saddlebags (after performing a quick preservation spell). Gwen offers to wash the dishes, and Merlin joins her to refill everyone’s water skins. After the two return, Lancelot _finally_ hands out the raspberries, and Aurelie eats them happily, even if they are a little sour. Once everyone has eaten their fill, the sun has long set and the fire is dying down. Leon decides to take the first watch, so Aurelie spreads her bedroll out between Percy and Gwen - Lance had laid down beside Merlin a little ways away from everyone else, but Aurelie wasn’t offended; the two of them had not had much time to catch up since the three of them had joined Merlin’s group. Their friendship was actually super endearing, each of them extremely comfortable with the other. However, as soon as they laid down, they began whispering. Aurelie can’t hear them well enough to make out actual words, but she has a feeling they’re planning something.

“Hey,” Percival whispered from his bedroll, and Aurelie turned over to face him.

“Hey.”

Percival blinked. “What do you think about this - are they telling the truth?”

“I’m sure if they were not in desperate need of aid Arthur would not have knighted me,” Aurelie hummed. “So yeah - I believe them.”

Frowning, Percy reached over and nudged her shoulder. “Don’t talk like that. You’re the best fighter I’ve ever seen. I admire you a lot.”

“Besides Lancelot,” Aurelie laughed, and her eyes softened as Percival chuckled softly. “Thanks Percy. I admire you too.”

“You do?”

Aurelie nodded seriously. “I admire anyone who can go into battle sleeveless.”

Aurelie had taken the last watch, and utilized her time to heat up the stew from the night before. They still had leftover firewood (thank goodness - she was not about to go collect more when she’s supposed to be keeping an eye out), so she quickly and quietly started a fire. By the time the sun had risen the stew was heated up, and her companions were roused by the (amazing, frankly - kudos to her and Merlin) smell. Like last night, Gaius, Gwen, Arthur, Leon, and Elyan ate first - but only because they were the first ones awake besides Aurelie who was preoccupied with brushing down and feeding Rosie. By the time the first five were finished, everyone else was awake so they ate too. Merlin washed the dishes this time, and Aurelie packed everything into her saddlebags. Once everyone had finished eating, they all gathered around the round table, Arthur laying out a map of Camelot that he pulled out of thin air.

“There is a tunnel under the northern ramparts that brings us only a few paces away from the entrance to the dungeons,” Arthur says seriously. “It’ll be heavily guarded. So, if we’re going to break everyone out, we must remain unobserved. We _cannot_ let them raise the alarm.”

Lancelot frowns at the map. “We need to take out the warning bell. That way the warriors will have no means of communication.”

“Good idea,” Arthur nodded.

“I’ll need someone with me who knows the castle,” Lancelot says, and Aurelie - who was about to volunteer - closes her mouth.

“I’ll go,” Merlin said, and Aurelie frowns slightly. What were those two planning?

Arthur pulls Guinevere aside and Aurelie stares at them for a moment before turning to the rest of the knights, crossing her arms and glaring at them. They all stare back with wide eyes, and Aurelie smirks internally. She’s still got it.

“If any of you die,” she starts, voice cold. “I’ll bring you back and kill you myself.”

The boys visibly relax, and Aurelie lets out a laugh. They’re too easy. She reaches up and claps Percival on the arm (he grabs it mockingly, crying out in fake pain) and makes her way over to Lancelot and Merlin, shouldering her way into the conversation. It dies as soon as they see her coming, but she finds she does not really care at the moment.

“You’d better be careful,” she warns, and Lancelot’s face breaks into a soft grin.

“You too,” he says quietly.

Aurelie nods, then turns to Merlin, whose eyes widen at the attention. She unsheathes the dagger she had put on her hip earlier and hands it to Merlin. “I noticed you don’t have a weapon and - well, I want you to at least have a fighting chance.”

His eyes widen even more, and he takes it with shaky hands. “I - thank you.”

“We made the best stew I’ve ever had together,” Aurelie shrugs playfully. “That makes us friends for life.”

Merlin shoots her a blinding grin. “It does, doesn’t it.”

“Just don’t break it!” Aurelie says as she walks away to lead her horse out of the castle. The way to Camelot is quiet - everyone is tense, especially Aurelie. She’s never been inside Camelot before, so she’s at a slight disadvantage. They had left behind Gaius and Gwen, and Aurelie mourns the loss of her companion, so she busies herself by weaving her hair into two intricate braids. Gwaine had watched her with fastination, and eventually asked her to explain how she did it, so Aurelie had to redo one in order to teach him. She saw Leon watching out of the corner of her eye and resisted the urge to laugh. Both men had hair on the longer side - Leon’s reaches his jaw and Gwaine his shoulders - but she feels she wasn’t close enough to either of them to ask to braid it yet. But she figures that it’s only a matter of time that she becomes close friends with the rest of the knights - it only took her four days to think of Percy and Lancelot as brothers after all.

Aurelie dismounts just before they reach Camelot, because she’s not comfortable riding Rosie into a city filled with immortal soldiers. She takes a deep shuddering breath, and a hand lands gently on her shoulder - Lancelot. She hasn’t really talked to him recently (besides the hunting trip) because he’s been preoccupied with Merlin, but his steady presence behind her calms her heart. Aurelie has never faced anything that can’t die, whether from her sword or magic, but she’s still willing to fight as hard as she could, especially if Lance and Percy are behind her. The group splits, Lancelot and Merlin heading in a different direction than the rest of them.

“Good luck,” Arthur says quietly, and Lancelot sends him a nod. He glances at Aurelie, smiles softly, then heads off with Merlin. Aurelie watches them go, butterflies erupting in her stomach - she’s not exactly comfortable leaving them to go off by themselves to face an entire immortal army, but she supposes if Arthur is okay with it, so is she. Percival nudges her ribs, so she turns to follow them along a wall, wedged firmly between Percival and Leon (something that makes her feel _very_ short - she barely comes up to Percival’s shoulder). Gwaine, who’s in the front of the line they had made, peeks around the corner, only to draw his head back quickly. He holds up two fingers, then points at Percy and holds his other hand up to his mouth like you would when you’re about to whistle. Percival nods like he understands (Aurelie frowns; she’s not entirely sure what Gwaine is getting at, but she has an idea, and Percy obviously knows what he’s talking about), and Gwaine walks into the view of the guards with no hesitation. Aurelie knows exactly when they notice him, because he waves brightly, then whistles.

“Now!”

Percy jumps out and charges the guards, ramming into them at full force and slamming them as hard as he can into the unforgiving stone wall, their heads slamming back before slumping down onto their chest. As soon as Percival lets go, they fall onto the ground and lay there.

“Stay there and don’t move, eh?” Gwaine says smugly even though Percy did almost all of the work. They managed to sneak their way down to the dungeons only repeating that trick twice more (one time there were four guards so Aurelie picked up a stray branch so heavy she could barely lift it and smacked a guard round the head so hard he passed out without a sound - Elyan had given her an impressed look after that). But as soon as they reached the dungeons, a swarm of guards rushed them, and even though Aurelie knew the prisoners would be heavily guarded, it still took her by surprise. Three peeled off and headed straight for Aurelie, who fumbled a little with her sword but managed to draw it in time to block a swipe at her head. She knocks two of them out fairly easily, but the third (and much bigger soldier) is harder to deal with. Aurelie is a lot smaller than almost all knights, but she has learned to use that to her advantage. She maneuvers her way around him and jumps on his back, wrapping her arms around his head and turning it to the side as hard and fast as she can. His neck breaks with a loud _CRACK_ , and he stumbles as she jumps off his back. Aurelie watches him warily as he teeters around, trying to regain his footing. He finds it eventually, but his neck is still broken so his head is kind of flopping around. Aurelie gags.

“That is so gross,” she says, eyes wide. “I should not have done that.”

With a strangled growl, he stalks towards her again, and an idea hits Aurelie so fast it catches her off guard. She runs forward and slides between his legs, turning and slashing her sword through both his achilles tendons. He topples over with a cry, and she leaps forward to take advantage of his momentary weakness, cutting the ligaments in his elbows and wrists. He stays down, neck broken and ligaments torn to shreds. With a manic grin, she brandishes her sword and steps over the fallen soldier to do something similar to the others. While she was fighting, someone (probably Arthur) had managed to release the imprisoned Knights of Camelot and Arthur had made his way into his father’s cell. Just as Aurelie drives her sword through a soldier that had cornered Elyan, the warning bell that Lancelot and Merlin were supposed to deal with rings so loudly that everything stops for a moment.

“What the hell are those two doing?” Arthur growls, and Aurelie shrugs in response before wrenching her sword out of the immortal soldier and chopping his head off. The head yells at her from where it’s laying on the ground, and she gags again. The decapitated body stumbles towards her, so she does the same thing she did to the soldier with the broken neck.

Elyan clears his throat. “Thanks.”

“Why is the only way to defeat these guys disgusting?” She complains, and Elyan shrugs. Just then, a hoard of immortal soldiers comes round the corner, and Aurelie’s eyes widen. At least fifty guards had come in as reinforcements, and there are six of them.

“If we’re going down, we’re going down fighting!” Arthur says, voice strong. “FOR THE LOVE OF CAMELOT!”

The Knights of the Round Table let loose a loud battle cry as they rush forward into battle. Aurelie falls into auto-pilot, no longer thinking about how she’s moving. She ends up back-to-back with Leon, the two of them totally circled by their enemies. She had long ago lost sight of the other Knights, but she can sort of see the top of Percival’s head a little ways away from them. Aurelie deflects a sword that was going to Leon’s side, and he blocks a sword that was going for her knee. Just when she thinks Leon and her are about to get overwhelmed, the immortal soldiers explode, showering them with golden sparks and charred chunks of skin. Aurelie would gag (yet again) if she wasn’t spending the last bit of her energy trying to stay standing. Some of her hair has come loose from her braids, her skin is covered in sweat, and she’s fairly sure her face is bright red from exertion. Leon doesn’t look much better, hair sticking to his forehead.

Aurelie looks around, confirming that everyone is alive - Percival is much closer to her than she had thought, while Elyan and Arthur had been pushed back against the far wall, but all of them look unharmed. 

“What the _fuck_ just happened?” She wheezes, sheathing her sword.

“Lancelot and Merlin did it,” Leon says, and Aurelie laughs breathlessly.

Elyan glances around. “Where’s Gwaine?”

Aurelie’s eyes widen - how could she have forgotten about Gwaine?!

“Gwaine?” Elyan says loudly. “You still alive?”

There’s a moment of tense silence before - “what do you think?” The ragged knight stumbles out of a doorway Aurelie hadn’t noticed, leaning heavily against the wall. “And that’s _Sir_ Gwaine to you.”

Aurelie grins.

Aurelie opens the door to her new room, eyes widening in surprise. It’s bigger than she thought it would be, with her being newly Knighted and a female. The four poster bed has white and golden covers and red drapes, a huge closet and changing screen rest against the opposite wall, and another door leads to a smaller room with a bath. Aurelie drops her saddlebags on the floor, not bothering to go through them at the moment, before taking her chainmail off and jumping onto the bed, sighing happily. Lancelot and Percival’s quarters were on either side of hers, with Leon, Elyan, and Gwaine’s on the opposite side of the hallway, with Leon being straight across from her. Arthur had told them that this hallway is exclusively for the Knights of the Round Table, and it was only a short distance from the prince’s own chambers. This definitely is not what Aurelie had been expecting when Lancelot told her about Merlin’s call for help, but she would not change the happenings of the past few days for anything in the world.

A soft knock startles her out of her thoughts, and Lancelot pokes his head in. “We’re all going to steal food from the kitchens, do you want to come?”

Aurelie jumps off her bed and sends her friend a blinding smile. “What are we waiting for?”


	2. Frozen Villages and Hawthorne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was going to try and fit this whole episode in one chapter but it was becoming a monster so i had to split it. hope you all like it!

Aurelie hates patrols.

Yes, as a Knight of Camelot, especially one of the Round Table, patrols are part of daily life. She hadn’t minded them at first, seeing it as a way to prove herself even more to Arthur and also the other Knights, because as accepting the Knights of the Round Table and the prince are, a lot of the other Knights (the nobles specifically) give her a hard time. Gwaine, Elyan, Lancelot, and Percival get some shit too since they are not of noble birth, but Aurelie gets the most. It had taken her beating Arthur in single combat to even get a shred of respect (and that had been after months of training). The prince had noticed Aurelie’s struggles, but she had asked him to let her try and deal with it first, and after she had broken Sir Kay’s nose after he said a demeaning remark, the Knights had backed off a bit. Arthur still is not comfortable letting Aurelie go on a patrol without another Knight of the Round Table, but she doesn’t really mind - they’re her best friends after all. She had become especially close with Leon and Gwaine - even though Gwaine and her had gotten in lots of trouble because of all the pranks they pull. Aurelie takes great pleasure in persuading Leon into doing things he does not want to do. One time she had gotten him to eat an entire lemon by itself, peel and all. It had taken half an hour of convincing and pleading, and then Aurelie had laughed the entire fifteen minutes Leon had taken to eat it. She was slowly growing closer with Elyan - a few weeks ago he had asked her to teach him how to use a bow, and they spent the majority of that time exchanging stories of their siblings (Aurelie enjoyed having blackmail against Gwen). Merlin and her had become even better friends, especially since she’s extremely close with Lancelot. Guinevere and Aurelie had taken to spending their lunch breaks together, and their favourite thing to do was have a picnic in the forest. Merlin and Elyan joined sometimes, which just made it more entertaining. And while she was not as close to Arthur as Merlin or even Leon, they both have tremendous amounts of respect for the other, especially since Aurelie has absolutely no problems calling Arthur out when he’s being (in Merlin’s words) a prat. The past couple of months has had their ups and downs, but Aurelie is beginning to settle into her role more firmly.

“This is so boring,” Elyan complained, and Aurelie silently agreed. Arthur had sent her, Elyan, Leon, and two other Knights to the Plains of Denaria, and they were just that - plains. Dusty, grey rocks as far as the eye could see, and Elyan and Aurelie had resolved their playful argument over sticky buns versus cheese buns a while ago (Elyan was adamant that sticky buns were better and Aurelie refused to budge until he gave up). Leon had listened to them with an air of amusement, even though he had an exasperated look on his face (he had snorted loudly when Aurelie said Elyan was “as floppy as a piece of hay” when he let her win), but his demeanor changed when they rounded a massive rock and saw a figure a little ways ahead of them pulling a cart behind them.

Leon kicked his horse into gear, Elyan and Aurelie following suit. “Halt!”

The cloaked figure did as told, and the Knights caught up to them with ease.

“Stay where you are,” Leon warns. The figure lets go of the cart handles, and the Knights dismount, Aurelie pulling her bow off her back and attaching an arrow. “Where are you headed?” Leon asks, and the crone doesn’t move.

“The Seas of Meredor,” she says, voice high pitched and filled with cracks.

“What’s in the cart?” Leon inquires, and when the crone doesn’t answer, he motions for the Knights to search the cart. As soon as they start to move, the figure turns around and throws her hood back. Aurelie’s eyes widen and she brings her bowstring back to her cheek, aiming straight for the sorceress’ heart.

“Lady Morgana!” Leon cries, startled.

She brings her hands up and Aurelie releases her arrow - but Morgana stops it and sends it flying back towards Aurelie, who just barely manages to get out of the way, the tip of the arrow slicing her left cheekbone. Morgana then shoves her hands forward and the Knights go flying. Aurelie lands hard, smashing the back of her head on a rock. She blinks up at the sky, and as her vision darkens, the only thing she can think is - 

_ Elyan jinxed them, that bitch. _

She’s woken up by Rosie slobbering all over her face. It’s a slow process - her vision’s fuzzy and her head feels like it’s filled with cotton. Out of the corner of her eye she can see Leon and Elyan already sitting up, looking just as dazed as she feels. Aurelie gently pushes Rosie’s snout out of the way and slowly sits up, the world around her spinning.

“Elyan, you jinxed us,” she bemoans, pressing her palms into her eyes.

The dark skinned knight nods slightly. “Never again will I say I’m bored on patrol.”

Morgana’s long gone, so Leon herdes them back onto their horses and back towards Camelot. Aurelie almost falls off Rosie three times, and has to get off to throw up in some bushes once when the dizziness would not subside. The cut on her face bleeds sluggishly the entire ride back, so she rips off a piece of her tunic and holds it to her face, the tips of her fingertips becoming stained with blood. It’s fairly obvious that she has a concussion, even to someone who is not trained, so the bumpy ride back is tortue. Rosie has a smooth gait, but still has to jump over logs and avoid bushes and rocks. Leon and Elyan seemed to recover fairly quickly from Morgana’s attack, but Aurelie had tried using a rock as a pillow - something she would not recommend. They made it back to Camelot without any problems, which is good because if Aurelie had to fight she’s not sure just how well she would hold her ground. She’s feeling well enough to walk, however, so she follows Leon and Elyan into the council chambers where Arthur is, blinking hard to keep the room from spinning.

“The reports are true sire,” Leon says after bowing slightly. “We caught up with Morgana on the Plains of Denaria.”

Arthur sighs softly. “Was she alone?”

Elyan shook his head. “There was someone else.”

“Morgause,” Arthur says definitely, but Aurelie shrugs.

“We couldn’t be sure,” she says firmly, blood dripping down her cheeks. She quickly wipes it off, wincing when the rough material of her tunic brushes against the cut.

“Where was Morgana heading?” Agravaine asks, stepping out from where he was lurking in the corner. Aurelie resists the urge to grimace at the sight of Arthur’s uncle. He gives off weird vibes, and always seems to be in the right place at the right time, but Arthur trusts him with his life, so all Aurelie can do is keep a close eye on him.

“To the Seas of Meredor,” Leon answers, and Aurelie frowns - when and how did he figure that out? Leon and Elyan were more coherent than her, so maybe they did some snooping while she was trying not to puke.

“The Isle of the Blessed,” Gaius realizes, one eyebrow reaching for the ceiling.

Agravaine takes a few steps forward. “I’ll send out patrols at first light.”

“Thank you Agravaine,” Arthur says.

“Sire -” Leon says abruptly. “You should know her powers have grown. Sir Bertrand and Sir Montague are both dead.”

The prince grimaces. “Keep me informed of any developments. Gaius - take a look at Aurelie please. She’s got blood all over her face.”

Aurelie reached up and touched her cheek, grimacing when her fingers came away covered in blood. Gaius tells her he’ll meet them up in his work space, so Leon puts his arm around her shoulder and directs her out of the room after they bow to Arthur, and Aurelie sighs. 

“It’s my face that’s bleeding,” she protests half-heartedly. “I’m not an invalid.”

Leon chuckles, ruffling her hair fondly but doesn’t answer or move, so Aurelie just goes with it. Elyan takes their weapons down to the armoury and they manage to make it up to Gaius’ without bumping into any other of the Knights of the Round Table (a good thing because they would make a bigger fuss than Leon already is). It takes Gaius all of an hour to stitch up Aurelie’s face and check out the back of her head. There’s a welt where she hit the rock, but it didn’t break skin, and Gaius says she has a minor concussion and that if she’s planning to go to the feast tonight, she has to take it easy. Leon promises that he’ll stay by her side all day.

The feast starts sooner than Aurelie realizes, having spent the past ten minutes in Gwen’s chambers while she tried to convince her to wear a dress. Leon had to discuss something with Arthur before the festivities started, so he left her with Gwen. She managed to escape in her regular clothes and hustles to the feast, lest Guinevere hunts her down and wrestles her into a dress she doesn’t want to wear. Aurelie sneaks in unnoticed and slides into the empty seat between Percival and Gwaine they had saved for her. She thanks them happily, filling her plate with food. Aurelie’s halfway through her roasted potatoes when a zing of pain rips through her head, causing her to drop her fork on the floor and press her palms against her eyes. Gwaine notices first, and places a calming hand between her shoulder blades.

“You alright Aurelie?”

She scrunches her face up and the pain dissipates slowly. “I’m okay,” she reassures, leaning down to grab her fork and wipe it off on her pant leg. “Just… a headache.”

Gwaine lets it go with another concerned look that Aurelie brushes off, and as soon as he looks away, she frowns. Her headache had been a constant dull ache in the back of her head all day, and she had felt the new pain right behind her eyes. It kind of feels like when she uses too much magic, but that can’t be right - she hasn’t done magic all day. Aurelie frowns into her potatoes and is about to ask Percival his opinion when Arthur stands up, and the entire hall quiets down.

The prince raises his glass. “Samhain. It is the time of year when we feel closest to the spirits of our ancestors. It is a time to remember those we have lost to celebrate their passing.” He lifts his glass above his head, and the rest of the hall follows suit. “To the king.”

Everyone stands and repeats his words back to him, Aurelie flinching as the bell tolls loudly in the silence. Then, like a switch has been flipped, everything slows down. She looks around in confusion, staring as Gwaine moves as slow as a snail. The sound of wind roars in her ears - weird, since they’re  _ inside  _ \- and suddenly everything is silent. A dead looking woman shrouded in all black who was not there before stands in the middle of the room, staring straight into Aurelie’s eyes. 

_ “Theia,”  _ she whispers, and Aurelie’s body goes ice cold.  _ “Theia. Theia.” _ She then turns to the side to look at someone else, and Aurelie tries to see, but she can’t move.  _ “Emrys,”  _ she whispers.  _ “Emrys. Emrys.” _

Aurelie’s goblet clatters to the table, wine spilling everywhere, and it’s like a spell has been broken. Sound rushes back into her ears and everyone starts moving at normal speed, but she still feels like her skin is made of ice. Aurelie’s eyes roll back in her head, and just before she passes out she can hear the sound of a pitcher falling to the floor and feels strong arms catch her.

She blinks awake in Percival’s arms just before he lays her down on a cot in Gaius’ chambers. Aurelie’s too cold to move, body shaking violently. She tries to speak, but she can’t get her lips to form words - and besides, her teeth are chattering too quickly to even think about talking.

“What happened?” She hears Lancelot ask, and a soft but wrinkled hand gently rests against her forehead.

“I don’t know,” Gaius mumbles. “I’ve never felt anyone so cold before.”

“Will they be all right?” Lance says, and Aurelie’s confused. She’s not alone?

“What do you need?” Percival asks and she hears Gaius hum.

“I’ll need Hawthorne to improve the blood flow,” the physician muses. “And blankets.  _ Lots  _ of blankets.”

Aurelie hears the Knights scramble to leave, and listens as Gaius shuffles over to his work station. It takes a lot of effort to move her head, but she manages to roll to the side enough to see Merlin of all people shivering just as violently as her in a cot a few feet away. 

She hesitantly reaches out with her magic and nudges his own. It recoils slightly, but cautiously wraps around hers.  _ Merlin?  _ She asks faintly, projecting as hard as she can.

_ … Aurelie?  _ He thinks back, surprise obvious.  _ You have magic? _

_ YOU have magic?  _ She thinks incredulously and a rush of amusement hits her.

_ Born with it,  _ he thinks.  _ What about you? _

_ Same here,  _ she reassures.  _ So you saw her too? _

He doesn’t answer her for a moment, but his magic doesn’t leave, so Aurelie waits patiently. He doesn’t answer until Gaius and the Knights have come back, piling blankets on top of them and Gaius rubs a thin paste into their skin, focusing on their arms, hands, feet, and legs.

_ I did,  _ Merlin thinks.  _ Who was she? _

_ I have no idea,  _ Aurelie muses.  _ But I’m kind of pissed off. That’s the second time I’ve passed out today. That can’t be good for my health. _

Merlin’s amusement hits her like a horse-drawn carriage. Aurelie smiles fondly.  _ So… Emrys? _

_ Ugh,  _ he thinks, amusement turning sour.  _ That’s what the druids call me. But she called you - Tae? _

_ Theia,  _ Aurelie corrects, a shiver wracking her body so violently a blanket falls off her pile.  _ Shit, why are we so cold? Anyways, I have no idea why she called me that - I’ve never even  _ heard  _ that name before! _

_ I can ask the druids the next time I see them,  _ Merlin thinks.  _ If we ever warm up. _

Aurelie’s silent while another shiver hits her.  _ I’m glad I found out you have magic, even if it was in the worst way possible. _

_ Same here,  _ Merlin agrees.  _ I thought I was alone. _

_ Me too!  _ Aurelie thinks loudly in her excitement.  _ I mean, Percival and Lancelot know, but they don’t really understand. _

Merlin’s confusion smacks her in the face.  _ Wait - Percival and Lancelot know?! _

_ Uh, yeah,  _ Aurelie thinks.  _ I accidentally did magic in front of them when we were travelling to meet you. _

_ … How did Percival react?  _ He asks after a moment.

Aurelie hums.  _ He was scared for me and what would happen if someone in Camelot found out. Then he and Lance told me about the Great Purge and that they would not reveal my secret. _

Merlin’s silent for a while.  _ Lancelot already knows I have magic. I helped him kill a griffin. _

Aurelie’s excitement zings through their connection.  _ That’s good! Now the three of us can talk about stuff and you won’t leave me out of your plans anymore. _

Merlin’s amused, but agrees. It takes them both a couple of hours to get warm, Merlin heating up much faster than Aurelie. So he goes down to ask Gaius (who apparently knows about his magic as well) about the woman in black, and comes back to tell Aurelie what the physician told him. She’s called the Cailleach, and she’s the gatekeeper to the spirit world. Samhain’s Eve at the stroke of midnight is when the veil is the thinnest and most vulnerable, and that’s when she appeared to them, so Merlin and Gaius think someone did something to the veil. Gaius makes her sleep in the cot beside Merlin that night so he can keep an eye on them, but by the time she wakes up the next morning, Aurelie’s back to normal. So she heads back to her own chambers to change into new trousers and a new tunic before heading down to the council chambers to receive her duties for that day. The rest of the Knights of the Round Table greet her happily, yelling about how they were worried sick and how she’s never allowed to do that again.

“Believe me,” she laughed, leaning against Lancelot fondly. “I’m not planning on it.”

Leon, as the First Knight, is just about to hand out the day’s assignments when the doors to the council chambers slam open, a distraught woman who looks a couple of years younger than Aurelie standing in the doorway clutching on to the doorframe like it’s the only thing keeping her upright. She makes eye contact with Aurelie before stumbling towards her. Aurelie, while confused, reaches for the lady so she doesn’t fall, and as soon as she’s in Aurelie’s arms, she bursts into tears. Aurelie glances up at the rest of the Knights, eyes wide. Agravaine enters, and frowns as he takes in the scene.

“What happened?”

All the girl manages to get out through her tears is that her village was attacked, so Leon leaves immediately to get Arthur. He is not gone long, but the girl manages to drag Aurelie down to the ground, sobbing into her neck, and all Aurelie can think is that she’s glad she braided her hair back today. 

Arthur walks briskly into the council chambers with Merlin on his heels, eyes widening slightly at the weeping woman in Aurelie’s arms. “What’s happened to her?”

“Her village was attacked,” Agravaine explains, and Aurelie grimaces at his voice.

“By who?” Arthur says incredulously.

Agravaine clears his throat. “That’s not entirely clear, sire.”

The prince approaches Aurelie and the weeping girl, and crouches down in front of them. “What’s your name?” He asks gently.

“Drea,” the girl whispers, and Arthur smiles. He reaches forward to put a gentle hand on her shoulder, but Drea tenses, fingers digging into the back of Aurelie’s chainmail.

“It’s okay,” Aurelie whispers. “This is prince Arthur. He’s a good man and a friend.”

Arthur smiles at the Knight, and Drea slowly looks up at him. “I’m Arthur,” he says. “Don’t be frightened. Tell me what happened.”

Drea swallows audibly and Aurelie rubs her hand up and down her back. “My mother, my father, my little sister - they’re…” She chokes on her words, tears welling up in her eyes again.

“It’s all right,” Arthur reassures softly. “It’s all right.”

Drea nods, but does not make an effort to keep speaking.

“Someone attacked them,” he prompts, and Drea nods again. “By who?”

“There was no one,” Drea whispers. “Just… shapes.”

Arthur frowns. “You didn’t see their faces?”

“They had no faces,” Drea whispers. Arthur makes uncertain eye contact with Aurelie, who just shrugs as minutely as she can. The prince turns to stare at his councillors, who are less reserved about their shrugs. Out of the corner of her eye, Aurelie sees Merlin turn around quickly, staring into the corridor like he saw a ghost.

Drea, who has since noticed that they don’t really believe her, blinks hard, a few tears escaping her eyes. “I - I keep telling you. They were there, but… they weren’t there. They moved so quickly. It was if they weren’t real, but… they must have been. I could hear the people screaming. And then… silence. They were all dead.” The girl breaks down, sobbing on Aurelie’s shoulder.

Arthur pats her shoulder. “Hey. Thank you.”

She nods quickly and tightens her grip on Aurelie’s shirt. She strokes Drea’s hair, the girl reminding her of a younger version of Oreena, who was the most soft-spoken out of her siblings by far. She used to cry a  _ lot,  _ and Aurelie would make fun of her, but what took Aurelie months to get over emotionally, Oreena could recover from in a week. 

Arthur turns to his uncle. “Where is this village?”

“Howden,” Agravaine answers. “It’s to the east of the White Mountains, no more than half a day’s hard ride.”

The prince nods firmly and turns to Leon. “Ready the Knights.”

Aurelie stands, helping Drea gently. “Let’s get you set up with Gaius. He’s the court physician, and will provide you with some food, company, and a warm hearth.”

Drea sniffles, turning her head to look up at Aurelie. “Sorry I cried on you.”

“It was an honour,” Aurelie jokes softly, and smiles when Drea giggles. She hands over the younger girl to Gaius, who guides her away with gentle hands. She then heads over to Merlin and pulls him away from the rest of the group.

“Ghosts?” She asks quietly, frowning in concern. “If the veil was torn…”

Merlin grimaces. “I hope you’re wrong and Drea’s just in shock.”

Only a few hours later, the Knights of the Round Table, Arthur, and Merlin are heading into the forest, their horses packed up and ready to go. Aurelie had a little bit of trouble finding her quiver - something that had led to an argument with Elyan because he was the one that put it away for her. The argument hasn’t ended, and neither of them are backing down.

“All I’m saying is I have a specific spot for my weapons,” Aurelie mutters angrily, and Elyan snorts.

“I could have made you put it away yourself!”

She frowns at him. “I was indisposed!”

“That’s what I’m saying!”

Aurelie sniffs. “When we get back, I’m going to show you where exactly to put my weapons so I’m not ten minutes late for our departure.”

Elyan laughs loudly. “You think I’m ever putting your weapons away again?!”

This led into a whole other argument about how if Elyan was injured, Aurelie would put his weapons away, so he should continue to do the same for her, and it just spiraled from there. One of the things Aurelie likes about Elyan is how he isn’t afraid to back down from an argument, even if it’s against her. Aurelie has not had a good debate since before she left Ospana, so Elyan was a breath of fresh air. Lancelot never argues with anyone, and Percival just humours her - besides they have a lot of the same opinions, so there’s not much to argue about. Gwaine and her think almost exactly the same, and Leon tries to argue but always ends up caving. Elyan, on the other hand, may agree with Aurelie but will stand firmly behind another point of view just to piss her off. She does the same thing to him, and she  _ loves  _ it. Leon eventually gets too annoyed to listen to them anymore so he puts a stop to it by separating them (this is how the majority of their arguments get resolved), and they ride for the next few minutes in complete silence until Gwaine strikes up a conversation with her about their favourite desserts (Gwaine loves apple pie and Aurelie would kill a man for a gingersnap cookie). Merlin flinches violently at the call of a woodpecker, and Aurelie grimaces - he’s not gonna be able to pretend that never happened. This group is like vultures; show a weakness and they will tease you about it mercilessly.

“Merlin, do you need your comfort blanket?” Arthur asks mockingly. 

The servant frowns in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You’re making  _ me  _ edgy,” the prince scolds, but lets out a loud laugh when Lancelot’s horse whinnies and Merlin jumps so high his butt clears the saddle. “... That’s a horse.”

“Maybe it sensed something,” Merlin shoots back.

Arthur nods thoughtfully. “Yes, that you’re a clotpole.”

Merlin splutters. “That’s  _ my  _ word!”

Aurelie snorts out a laugh and Merlin sends her a betrayed look.

“And it suits you perfectly,” Arthur grins, and Merlin is shocked into silence.

They arrive at the village with no problems, dismount and tie off their horses to be able to continue into the village on foot. Aurelie is reluctant to leave Rosie, especially since it’s getting darker and the back of her neck feels oddly cold, like she’s being watched. But she does as told and leaves her horse at the edge of the forest. Everyone is more tense than they were in the daylight, and Aurelie draws her sword just to be safe. The village looks deserted, and there is no noise as the Knights move through the houses.

“It’s too quiet,” Arthur whispers, and Aurelie agrees. It’s not late enough yet for the entire town to be tucked into bed, and the feeling on her neck will not go away. She keeps glancing behind her, but nothing is there. A door creaks loudly to her left, and they all freeze in anticipation, Aurelie gripping her sword so tight her knuckles are turning white. A goat bleats and wanders out, and Aurelie breathes out a sigh of relief. Arthur signals for them to split into pairs, so Aurelie joins up with Percival (she really had no choice - he had lightly grabbed her cape and pulled her over to where he was standing as soon as Arthur told them to split into groups of two), who was glancing around warily. Percival and her are carefully searching through a carriage full of what looks like personal belongings - blankets, a few barrels, five crop bundles - when a loud crunching noise startles them so much Aurelie trips over a discarded blanket. She pokes her head out of the carriage to see Gwaine holding an apple with a sizable bite taken out of it, and Arthur glaring at him.

“Sorry,” he says, mouth full, and Aurelie sighs. Lancelot shakes his head minutely, and Aurelie climbs out of the carriage. Percival comes around from the other side with a slight frown on his face, so they make to move on to what looks like the public stables.

“Here!” Elyan yells from a little ways away, and all of the Knights immediately draw their swords, running over to the house Elyan’s standing in. Aurelie slips a little on her way in, the grass just outside the door almost drowning in mud, but makes it inside having managed to keep her balance.

“What the hell?” She asks, eyes wide. A family is lying on the floor, frozen mid-scream. Their bodies are covered in tiny shards of ice, and their lips are blue. Merlin tilts his head to the side in confusion, reaching out and brushing his fingers against the father’s neck. His hand comes away completely dry, the ice on the man’s skin not melting when met with body heat. Aurelie frowns at that, since only magic ice would stay frozen when countered with heat. She turns around to go check in the rest of the houses, but stops short at the sight (and sound) of something flying past the doorway faster than she can run. The Knights turn around at the sound, each of them brandishing their sword.

“Did you all see that?” Arthur asks slowly, like he’s not sure he can trust his eyes.

Gwaine nods. “We’re  _ literally  _ chasing shadows.”

“Come on,” the prince orders, and they all make their way out of the house. Night has arrived without any of them noticing, darkness falling over them like a thick blanket. The feeling on the back of Aurelie’s neck gets more prominent, and she reaches a hand up to make sure there’s no bugs crawling across it. They each make a torch out of firewood and some clothes Elyan grabbed from the frozen family’s closet. Aurelie grimaced as she lit it, whispering a quiet apology. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Merlin slip away from the rest of them and she makes to follow him. Just as she’s about to sneak around the backside of the barn, Leon grabs her cape, gently tugging her over to the inside of the stables where the horses are also frozen. Aurelie gasps, reaching out to touch the nose of one. It’s the coldest thing she’s ever touched, and she’s shivering when she pulls her fingers away.

_ “Merlin!”  _ Lancelot yells, frantic. It’s faint, and Aurelie’s eyes widen - she should have gone with him! Leon and her barely spare each other a glance before they’re sprinting out of the stables and towards where Lance’s voice came from. It doesn’t take them long, the prince and other Knights reaching them a little bit before. Merlin - thankfully - is fine, but looks a little shaken. Lancelot’s worry is obvious, feet moving restlessly. 

“There’s something out there!” He says loudly. Merlin nods a little, and Aurelie moves forward to put her hand on his shoulder. He eyes her warily, but she just shakes her head minutely - they’ll talk later.

“You saw it?” Arthur demands, eyes fixed on Lancelot.

He brandishes his torch. “When it saw the light, it fled.”

“It scared the horses,” Gwaine tells them, gesturing back to the edge of the forest where they left them. Aurelie turns to try and catch a glimpse of Rosie, but it’s much too dark and her torch doesn’t reach that far.

“It’s not something you can chase,” Merlin says seriously, and Aurelie turns back around. “Or something you can kill.”

An inhuman shriek echoes around them, and the hairs on the back of Aurelie’s neck stand up.

“We need to get out of here,” Arthur says, and none of the Knights hesitate to head back to their horses.

_ My magic was useless against them,  _ Merlin projects into Aurelie’s mind in warning. She turns her head back to look at him, and he just stares back at her. Aurelie slowly turns back around, but keeps her eyes peeled for the flying ice creatures.

Camelot was chaos. It was past midnight by the time they got back, guards running everywhere trying to fight the violent ghosts flying over occasionally, screeching as they go. Aurelie had spent an hour helping Gwen run blankets around the castle before carefully sneaking out to the forest to gather firewood that wasn’t being used around the castle to ward of the spirits (she had been terrified out of her mind the entire time, so it took her extra long to gather wood since she was freezing at the slightest noise) and sneaking back to her quarters. The ghosts were focused on terrorizing the screaming townsfolk, who just ended up making themselves easy targets with all the noise they were making. Aurelie managed to make it back to her room without any problems, immediately starting a roaring fire in the fireplace in the corner of her room. She drew her window curtains closed so it would be harder to see the light, and she sat herself down right in front of the fire on high alert. The spirits could fly through the walls, so she wasn’t going to take any chances by going to sleep. 

Aurelie had been staring at the fire for the past two hours, eyelids growing heavier and heavier, when there was a loud knock on the door. She glanced at the door before sighing, back cracking loudly as she stood up from being in one position for so long. Aurelie swore quietly at the sounds as she hobbled over to the door and opened it slowly, only peeking one eye through the opening.

“Percy?!” She asks quietly, incredulous. Her taller friend stands just outside her door, glancing around cautiously. He’s hunched over to try not to draw attention to himself, and it makes him look oddly small. Aurelie decides she doesn’t like it. 

“Evening,” he mumbles and Aurelie laughs quietly. “Can I come in?”

Aurelie swings the door open with no hesitation. “Of course!”

Percival grudgingly admits that he could not fall asleep with the spirits flying wildly around the castle and was also worried about her, so he carefully made his way over to her room. 

“Is everything alright?” Aurelie asks carefully and Percival huffs and mumbles a response about how he  _ wants to sleep here please _ . Aurelie smiles fondly, immediately going to the chest laying at the edge of her bed and pulling out an extra blanket, draping it over the comforter already on her bed. Her taller friend settles in happily, and Aurelie falls asleep feeling warm and safe, even though spirits that can freeze a human with a single touch are terrorizing Camelot.

Aurelie wakes up the next morning to a heat so stifling she can’t breathe. Her comforter is covering her head and there’s a weight on her stomach. Annoyed (but relieved she’s still alive - she definitely didn’t mean to fall asleep last night), Aurelie reaches up to push the blanket off her head, and is surprised to see the rest of the Knights of the Round Table piled on either her bed or the floor. Percival is taking up most of the bed, but Gwaine has managed to squeeze himself on, using Aurelie’s stomach as a pillow. Elyan is laying horizontally across Percival and Aurelie’s feet, and Leon and Lancelot have made a little mattress for themselves on the floor using Aurelie’s spare pillows and blankets. The fire is still raging, and Aurelie’s skin feels gross from all the sweat she’s covered in. She manages to maneuver herself off the bed without disturbing anyone and makes three trips down to the well to fill her tub up. She closes the door to the bathroom and heats up the water with a flash of her eyes. The bath is heavenly, and Aurelie gets dressed half an hour later feeling refreshed. The Knights are still asleep when she comes out of the bathroom, so she grabs the pillow she was sleeping on and hits them all in the face until they wake up with grumbled protests. The rest of the day is filled with Aurelie sneaking food out of the kitchen, going to gather firewood from the forest with Lancelot, moving dead bodies out of the streets, and patrols. Gwen catches up to Aurelie during one of her rare moments of free time and they enjoy lunch together, resolutely not talking about what happened last night. Aurelie sneaks her huge magic book up to Gaius and Merlin’s chambers, telling Gaius he can look through it to see if there is anything that can help them. She takes the pressed flower crown that Lancelot had made for her weeks ago out of there with a blush, embarrassed that she forgot about it and leaves Gaius to his own devices to go put the flower crown back in her chambers. Night approaches slowly, ice growing in Aurelie’s stomach the darker it gets. She starts carrying a torch around earlier than she needs to, and when it’s time for her night patrol, she makes sure the other Knights have an extra torch and match with them just in case. The streets are quiet, the townspeople having barricaded themselves in their homes or made their way to the castle for protection during the day. Elyan and Percival stay glued to her side, both out of worry and fear. 

“It’s too quiet,” Elyan mumbles. “I don’t like it.”

Aurelie hums in agreement. “I would rather it be quiet than the constant screaming that was last night.”

“That was horrible,” Percival says.

The three of them continue on in silence, a few Knights not of the Round Table walking in front of them, eyes peeled for flying ghosts. Aurelie is so focused on making sure nothing attacks them from the front, she doesn’t notice Percival slip into a dark alleyway until moments later when she turns to ask him a question, only to stop walking when she doesn’t see him beside her.

“Elyan,” she says slowly. “Where’d Percy go?”

The other Knight stares at her with wide eyes, and they immediately turn around without a word to the other Knights and start searching for their larger friend. They split up reluctantly, with Elyan turning down the road to their left and Aurelie continuing the way they came. She peers down an alleyway and spots Percival running towards her with three kids bundled in his arms and his torch laying on the ground behind him, doing nothing to deter the spirit streaking right for them. Aurelie jumps into action, sprinting towards Percy and sliding past him, waving her torch wildly through the air and hitting the ghost right in it’s skull-like face. She turns towards Percival with a grim look on her face, and takes one of the children from him. They walk in silence to the house the children direct them too, knocking quietly and urging them in quickly, waving off the hushed gratitude from the parents.

“Thanks,” Percival says, squeezing himself behind Aurelie’s torch.

She grins at him, even though she’s still on edge. “Couldn’t let you have _ all  _ the glory, could I?”

“I suppose not,” Percy laughs, and Aurelie claps him on the shoulder.

“Let’s go find Elyan.”

Agravaine glances around before quietly letting himself inside the destitute hovel, the trees blocking out all chances of sunlight filtering through. The house is seemingly empty, but Agravaine knows better. He takes a couple of steps further inside, but is stopped by a dagger to the back.

“My lady?” He asks hesitantly. 

“My lord,” Morgana drawls, removing the dagger from his skin, and he sighs in barely contained relief. “I trust you bring me good news?” She makes her way over to one of the rickety chairs beside a table covered in dust and sits down.

Agravaine remains standing and nods minutely. 

She gestures for him to start speaking. “Tell me.”

“The kingdom is on it’s knees,” he says with barely contained glee.

“How terrible,” Morgana says sarcastically, picking at her nails.

Agravaine chuckles. “Indeed.”

“And what of the poor people?” Morgana asks apathetically. 

“More fall every night.”

She grins, but it’s too wide to be sincere. “Such a shame.”

Agravaine hesitates, but opens his mouth. “You should know that Arthur intends to vanquish these creatures.”

Morgana scoffs loudly. “Impossible.”

“He makes ready to go to the Isle of the Blessed as we speak,” Agravaine reveals. “If the dorocha don’t kill him on the way, our brave little lamb intends to sacrifice himself to repair the veil.”

Morgana doesn’t answer this, just stands up and makes her way over to one of the tiny windows. 

Agravaine frowns worriedly. “Something is troubling you, Morgana.”

The witch doesn’t turn around. “Something the Cailleach said. She spoke of two people called Emrys and Theia. Called them my doom.”

“Your doom?” Agravaine repeats, confused. “What did she mean?”

“I don’t know.”

“Morgana,” Agravaine says softly. “We should be celebrating. Arthur will be dead within the week, leaving the throne open for Camelot’s rightful heir.”

She smirks slowly, the movement splitting her bottom lip open, but she makes no move to wipe off the droplets of blood dripping down her chin.


End file.
